How Did We Get Here? The Truth Behind Our Titanium Caravan Lifestyle

One of the questions we get asked all the time is:

"How do you afford that incredible Titanium caravan, a great tow vehicle, and get to travel for six months of the year at your age?"

The short answer?

Hard work. Lots of it.

The longer answer is a story that started more than 25 years ago.

Let's take you back to the beginning.

Starting With Almost Nothing

When we first met, we quickly realised that neither of us wanted to spend our money renting. We wanted to pay off something of our own. Start working towards a future. 

So in 1999, just before the GST came in, we bought our first house.

In fact, we paid less for that first home than our Titanium caravan costs today.

At the time, Bree was still at university and John was supporting both of us while paying the mortgage. Money was tight. Really tight.

Our idea of a night out was heading to our lifelong friends' house for dinner. We'd take turns hosting. If it was your house, you cooked the main meal. If you were visiting, you brought dessert.

Entertainment was board games around the kitchen table.

Our coffee table? Cardboard boxes.

We stretched every dollar we had.

Looking back now, we laugh about those days, but they're some of our fondest memories.

A Little Breathing Room... Then Twins!

When Bree finished university and secured full-time work, things started to get a little easier.

For about two years.

Then along came kids.

Not one.

Two.

Twins.

Suddenly maternity leave turned into five years at home until they started school.

Once again, money was tight, but we made it work.

During all those years our holidays were spent camping in a tent with a trailer packed to the absolute limit. We loved every minute of it.

Well... mostly.

The Trip That Changed Everything

There was one camping trip that nearly broke Bree.

Imagine heating bottles on a one burner gas cooker inside the tent, feeding babies who were now mobile, dealing with mud everywhere and enduring five solid days of rain while living in a tent.

It was enough to convince us that it was time for an upgrade.

Enter the camper trailer.

Compared to the tent, it felt like luxury. We got a few good years out of the Camper Trailer, lots of memories and she was great.

Building the Dream

In 2010 we built our dream family home on a 1,200-square-metre block.

It was a massive financial stretch.

The sort of stretch that keeps you awake at night wondering if you've done the right thing.

But we believed it was short-term pain for long-term gain.

At the same time, we were both working and juggling a side business to make ends meet.

There were plenty of sacrifices.

But we always kept our eyes on the future we wanted.

The Caravan Journey Begins

By 2015, Bree had been struggling with three bulged discs and physically couldn't keep helping set up and pack down the camper trailer.

It was time for another upgrade.

We bought a Jayco Pop Top Expanda.

Was it our dream van?

No.

Was it a compromise?

Absolutely.

But it was what we could afford and it got us into the caravan market.

Sometimes progress isn't about getting exactly what you want.

It's about taking the next step forward.

Taking a Leap of Faith

In 2019 we took one of the biggest risks of our lives.

We purchased the largest jumping castle business in Victoria.

The goal was simple.

Get ahead.

The reality?

Huge hours.

We both worked full-time jobs while running the business with employees.

Seven days a week.

And during the six-week Christmas period it felt like we were working 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Life became a constant juggle of work, business, family and trying to keep everything moving forward.

But we kept pushing because we had a vision for what we wanted our future to look like.

We loved it but it was also a lot of hard work. 

Making Memories Along the Way

Even during those crazy years, we kept travelling whenever we could.

We upgraded our caravan again to a full height Design RV Caravan with bunks because we'd had enough of folding out bed ends in the rain and the bunks is the Jayco were now not long enough for the child who did not get the 2nd double bed.

But those older setups gave us some incredible family memories.

One of our favourites was a four-week trip from Melbourne to Darwin and back with the kids in 2019.

The van didn't matter.

The memories did.

The Van That Started an Argument

In January 2020 we headed off on our first trip in the new Design RV Caravan to Apollo Bay.

This van caused a little bit of debate.

John wanted a "mum and dad" van.

Bree wasn't ready to give up the bunks and kick the kids out into swags.

As usual...

Bree won.

What none of us knew was that this would be our last trip before COVID lockdowns changed everything.

For nearly two years, travel plans were put on hold.

Like everyone else, we simply had to wait. By the time we got back out travelling again we headed off on a 4 week trip to WA, well we thought we had just got into SA when our girls had enough of the bunk bends and we gave in and bought Swags for them. Empty bunks make great storage but also very heavy when you do not need them. Anyway we did not get into WA because us Victoria's were to much of a risk so we ended up travelling around SA, great van and two swags.  

A New Chapter

By 2023 we were exhausted.

COVID had taken its toll.

The business had taken its toll.

Years of juggling work, life and business had taken their toll.

We sold the business and decided it was time for a different chapter.

A chapter focused more on living than simply working.

The kids were now happily sleeping in swags. They were older, almost licensed and becoming more indpendant.

The time had finally come for that "mum and dad" van.

After extensive research, we committed to building our dream caravan with Titanium.

Today, we couldn't be happier.

This is now our second extended six-month trip living in the van, and honestly, it just makes life on the road easy.

So How Did We Get Here?

People often see the Titanium caravan, and yes we know its up there in the pricey category and everyone knows they are premium builders and the tow vehicle, a 200 series Landcruiser with all add ons looks impressive and expensive. But we did it over time, we went without, we worked hard to get the lifestyle but people just assume we somehow got lucky.

The reality is far less glamorous.

We got here through stepping stones.

A tent.

A camper trailer.

A pop-top.

A caravan upgrade.

A business.

Countless sacrifices.

Years of saving.

Years of saying no to things we couldn't afford.

Years of working long hours.

Years of teamwork.

We skipped plenty of fancy nights out.

We didn't chase designer brands.

We focused on building the life we wanted.

Even today, we're still working. Bree continues to work while travelling, and John is spending this stint working at Toogunna. Because yes, money does not grow on tress and we still have a mortgage, bills to pay and kids to support.

The difference now is that we have the flexibility to spend Victorian winters exploring Australia.

And that's something we never take for granted.

The Real Secret

So when people ask us how we're able to live this lifestyle at 45 and 51 years old, our answer is simple.

Hard work. Teamwork. Sacrifice. Patience.

Most importantly, we stayed focused on the life we wanted to create.

The Titanium caravan isn't the story.

It's simply the latest chapter.

The real story is 25 years of building a life together, one step at a time.

And honestly?

We wouldn't change a thing.